The Canterville Ghost clip: Oscar Wilde gets spooky in animated film

Last Updated on November 3, 2023

Oscar Wilde is known as one of the greatest wits in literary history. But he has brought some delightful eeriness, too, with works like The Picture of Dorian Gray and more. This month, one of his finest combinations of the two, the 1887 short story “The Canterville Ghost”, will arrive in animated form on the big screen. Now, we have a clip from The Canterville Ghost courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment and Shout! Studios that, like the movie itself, is aimed at the whole family.

In the clip, host Hiram Otis (David Harewood) shows off “the new wonder of the modern world” – electricity – to his dazzled guests, only to be pranked by those channeling the spirit of Sir Simon de Canterville (Stephen Fry), who soon commandeers the spook….

The official plot of The Canterville Ghost: “As the nineteenth gives way to the twentieth century and scientific invention brings forth new ways of traversing and seeing the world, a modern American family moves into their recently purchased, country home, Canterville Chase, in England, only to find it is haunted by a ghost. Sir Simon de Canterville has been haunting the grounds of Canterville Chase successfully for over three hundred years, but he meets his match when he tries to scare out the new arrivals.”

In addition to Fry and Harewood, the voice cast of The Ghost of Canterville also features Hugh Laurie as The Grim Reaper, Freddie Highmore as The Duke of Cheshire, Emily Carey as Virginia Otis, Meera Syal as Lucretia Otis, Miranda Hart as The Ghost Catcher, Toby Jones as The Reverend Chasuble, and Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Umney. That’s a pretty strong cast, with those featured in the clip showing commitment to landing both the light humor and scares of the source.

The Canterville Ghost has been adapted for the screen many times before, dating back to 1944’s Charles Laughton vehicle. Only a few years later came the first television adaptation, a medium where the short story has been most popular, with a fairly good version starring Patrick Stewart and Neve Campbell airing on ABC in 1996.

The Canterville Ghost comes to theaters this Friday, October 20th.

What do you think of the clip of The Canterville Ghost? Let us know!